I just read an article in the paper about the increase in people growing vegetables at home in order to save on their grocery bills. The article says that in the US, people growing their own veges in the back yard are saving around $60 a week.
Now, I don’t know how they actually worked that out – I assume that this would be for people living in parts of the country where you can grow all year round. Certainly here we won’t be able to grow much for a fair part of the year without a greenhouse.
At the moment, we’ve grown a heap of potatoes. In fact, the entire cupboard under the sink is full of potatoes and there are more in the ground out back. And right now, I come in from the yard with 20 or so tomatoes every afternoon. We have tomatoes lining the window sill in the kitchen and we have large containers overflowing and more in the fridge. We also have spinach, onions, lemons and limes and apples and quite a few different herbs.
The point I’m making is that I have some experience of growing my own fruit and vegetables. But for me, the article on saving money by growing your own veges has completely missed the point.
I don’t think we save much – we probably do, but that isn’t the point at all. The stuff you grow yourself tastes SO much better than the stuff that you get from the supermarket. I let it ripen on the plant and then pick it fresh. It takes more effort, and you will be restricted by the growing season, but the flavour is fantastic.
My recomendation is do if for the flavour and the sense of satisfaction that you have done this yourself. That alone is worth far more than whatever you may or may not save on your grocery bill.